New York City Graffiti Black and White Photography
Lost Head Street Art Near the Brooklyn Bridge
The headless figure was impossible to miss. Against a brick wall crowded with graffiti, stickers, signs, wires and painted shapes, a woman's face appears to float above a body that has quite literally lost its head.
I found this scene in 2005 while walking from Manhattan into Brooklyn, shortly after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. New York street art was everywhere, but this particular combination stopped me. Someone had created the figure on the right, another face occupied the wall above it, and layers of unrelated graffiti had accumulated around both. Nothing was designed as a complete composition, yet together it worked.
That accidental quality is what interested me.
I photographed the scene in black and white, allowing the brickwork, painted lines, dark doorways and graphic street art to compete on equal terms. The photograph is visually busy, but the missing head gives the eye somewhere to settle. Even the No Parking sign and pole slicing vertically through the frame become part of the disorder.
Over the years I began calling the photograph Lost Head. It became one of those images people remembered and, later, tried to locate for themselves.
New York constantly changes. Walls are repainted, buildings disappear and street art can vanish overnight. Looking back at this photograph now, I value it not only for its strange humour and composition, but because it preserved one small, temporary piece of the city's street culture exactly as I encountered it.
© Dan Kosmayer, 2005
Premium Archival Fine Art Prints
Each photograph is produced using archival pigment inks on premium fine art paper, chosen for excellent tonal depth, fine-detail reproduction, and long-term image stability.
The refined surface provides beautiful detail while reducing distracting glare under normal indoor lighting, making it particularly well suited to both color and black-and-white photography.
Each photograph is sold as an unframed fine art print, allowing it to be framed according to your space and personal style.
Every print is made to order specifically for you.
Free Shipping
Shipping is included with every fine art print at no additional charge.
Your photograph is carefully packaged for protection during transit and shipped directly to your delivery address.
Tracking information is provided when your order ships.
About My Fine Art Photography
Every photograph in my collection comes from my own travels, explorations, and years behind the camera.
I create my work as photographic art rather than mass-produced decoration. From street portraits and abandoned places to landscapes, architecture, and the unusual subjects I discover along the way, each image begins with something that made me stop and look.
My photographs are available in multiple sizes so the same image can work in anything from an intimate wall space to a large statement installation.
